I agree with you, Gabyunbound, about the creativity. I am not against the whole creativity and bipolar thing, but I think it's over emphasized.

I do like the idea of research to determine how/why some people with bipolar recover more fully than others. I'd also like to see research on how people with bipolar disorder who struggled for years finally recovered partially or fully. I don't believe we are all neatly fitting into categories, but some insight would be more helpful than none.

My concern about "if doctors could give you some sense of what's possible" is with doctors who are pessimistic about recovery. I know for a fact there are doctors out there who say "You will never be able to..." or "You should just settle for..." This is not to say doctors should be overly confident. I just think doctors need to be determined always and never write anyone off or tell people their struggles shouldn't be continuing for this or that reason.